Vasto
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Template:Cleanup-date Vasto is a town on the Adriatic coast of the Province of Chieti in southern Abruzzo, Italy. The population is approximately 35,000.
Historical Notes.
The town was founded by Diomedes, the Greek hero; the earliest archaeological relics date 1300 BC, evidence of the first settlements.
In the pre-Roman epoch, the Frentani, an Italic tribe, settled the area. Following Roman conquest (I century BC), Histonium, Vasto’s Latin name, became a Municipium.
After the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, the city fell to the Byzantines, then to the Lombards and, finally, to the Franks. In 1076 circa, Histonium was renamed Guastaymonis, or the Waste of Aimone, following raids, hence its current name: Vasto.
In 1400s, the city’s urban structure was transformed by Giacomo Caldora, a mercenary captain, soon its lord. The Caldoras built new city walls still seen today: Torre Bassano in Piazza Rossetti, Torre Diomede in Vico Storto del Passero, Torre Diamante in Piazza Verdi and Porta Catena, with Castello Caldoresco as its primary defensive outpost.
With Spanish Dominion, Vasto became fief of the Marquises of d'Avalos; in the reign of Cesare Michelangelo (marquis from 1697 to 1729), Vasto reached its zenith.
Only superficially shaken by revolutionary events in 1799 (a short-lived Republic of Vasto was immediately overturned by the sanfedista, or loyalists), the city's history was reflected in the nation's throughout the Restoration to the Unity of Italy when a liberal elite governed.
In the age of Giolitti, Vasto changed its architectural and urban features. The historical centre was redrawn (esp. Corso de Parma) and the foundations were set for drastic alterations during 1920s and 1930s. In fact, it was during the Fascist regime that the present forms of both Piazza Rossetti and Corso Italia were created.
Despite the devastating landslide, 1956, that dragged a significant part of the oriental ridge - now Via Adriatica - into the gorge below, the years following WWII were a time of industrial, urban and socio-cultural development. The city also discovered its tourist vocation: besides the progressive development of its beaches, Roman-era thermal baths, mosaics, cisterns and remains of an amphitheatre were found and restored.
Today, Vasto is one of the Adriatic Coast’s most charming coastal towns, thanks to the territory’s natural beauty, its historical and cultural traditions and its culinary specialties, including wines: Montepulciano, Trebbiano, Cerasuolo.
Travel Info:
Nearest Airport: Pescara (75 km/50 mi) Train Station: Vasto - San Salvo Highway Exit: Vasto Nord-Casalbordino or Vasto Sud-San Salvo
Day excursions: Tremiti Islands, daily ferry from the Porto di Vasto; National Parks of Abruzzo; Santo Stefano di Sessanio; Gargano - Peschici, Vieste; 3 hrs from Rome, Naples, Amalfi Coast; world-class skiing at Roccaraso, snowboarding in Passo Lanciano.
For more info: / ex-pat
External links
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